How to add a gift card to PayPal

Using PayPal makes it easy to buy things online once you’ve set it up, but what about using those pre-paid gift cards you’ve got lying around? You can use them with PayPal, too; here’s how to add a gift card to it. Note that you can’t use retailer-specific gift cards. Only pre-paid cards from credit card companies like Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover will work.

How to add gift cards to PayPal

If you have a pre-paid Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, or similar gift card, you can add it to your PayPal account as a form of payment. Here’s how to do it:

1. Go to PayPal.com and sign into your account.
2. Go into the Wallet tab.
3. Click on the Link a card or bank button.
4. Select Link a debit or credit card.
5. Under Link a card manually, select Debit or credit card.
6. Enter your gift card’s information and select Link Card.

If you’re using a mobile device to add your gift card to PayPal, launch the PayPal app and go to Accounts > Linked banks and cards > Add new > Debit and credit cards > Enter your card info. Enter the information and hit Link Card.

After completing these steps, your pre-paid card should appear as a payment method in your PayPal account. If you encounter an error saying you can’t use your gift card because it lacks personal identifiers, there should be instructions to follow on your card to register it.

Can you buy PayPal gift cards?

There is no PayPal gift card. You can use PayPal to send people virtual cards for other retailers, like eBay, but there’s no gift card for PayPal itself. However, there is a PayPal debit card. It works anywhere that accepts Mastercard and links with your PayPal balance. Like other debit cards, you can also earn rewards with the PayPal debit card

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